ISR4_s43_Layout 1 09.09.11 15:56 Seite 35 2 SEPTEMBER 2011 O.I.T.A.F. Partner 10th worldwide O.I.T.A.F. Congress - Rio 2011 www.isr.at INTERNATIONAL ROPEWAY REVUE Step in easy … … go up safely! T +4141 3131 38787 51 11 F +4+41 3131 38282 11 86 wwwww.gaganglgloffff.cocom ISR4_s44-45_Layout 1 09.09.11 15:05 Seite 1 Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Peter SEDIVY Ropeway expert at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology ROPEWAY BMVIT Photo: ENGINEERING STANDARDS AND THEIR REVISION Technical specifications for the ropeway industry corresponding national codes must then be withdrawn by the individual member states. Every technical system or product relating to ropeways that is made available on the European Union’s internal market1,2 is subject to certain technical regu- Harmonized ropeway standards lations, which are published in the form of directives, standards or codes. Appli- Harmonized standards are European standards drawn up at the request of the cation of such regulations can be discretionary or mandatory.3 European Commission. The standardization request (mandate) is issued to a European standards organization, which is then responsible for the content of the harmonized standard. What is a standard? Harmonization of the ropeway standards “Safety requirements for cableway Everyone is familiar with the word “standard”. However, the list of usages and installations designed to carry persons” and “Steel wire ropes” was announced definitions of the word in Wikipedia is long. It is therefore meaningful to clari- in the European Union’s Official Gazette of 4 March 2009 (2009/C51/05)9. fy the semantics with regard to ropeway standards with all their implications. The following two definitions are relevant for ropeway standards: Application of these harmonized ropeway standards can be assumed to consti- tute compliance with the essential requirements of Directive 2000/9/EC. 1. “A standard is a legally recognized, generally applicable regulation drawn up and published in a standardization process with the objective of providing a solution to a certain matter.” (German Wikipedia) Discretionary character of the harmonized ropeway standards 2. “A document established by consensus and approved by a recognized body Observance of the harmonized ropeway standards is voluntary; manufacturers that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics may employ the technical solution of their choice as long as it satisfies the for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree essential requirements listed in Annex II of Directive 2000/9/EC. of order in a given context”. (EN 45020:20064) The standards have the character of recommendations; they are not legally binding in themselves. On the other hand, those who choose to apply these Basis of European standardization for the ropeway industry standards have the benefit of recommendations made by official representa- tives of the industry, which gives them the status of recognized technical rules. Annex II of Directive 2000/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Coun- cil of 20 March 2000 relating to cableway installations designed to carry per- In the case of systems and products engineered in accordance with the harmo- sons lists essential requirements relating to health and safety offering a high nized ropeway standards, compliance with the essential requirements listed in standard of protection. The technical details for implementation of these essen- Directive 2000/9/EC can be assumed by all concerned. tial requirements are specified in European harmonized standards for cable- In those cases where a system or product is not based on the relevant standard, way installations. In this context the reader is referred to items (13)5 and (14)6 the onus of proof for compliance with the essential requirements rests with the of the recital of Directive 2000/9/EC. manufacturer. European standardization for the ropeway industry Current ropeway standardization activities The effective working of the European internal market is dependent on Ropeway standards are reviewed every five years to ensure that they reflect the existence of European standards. Responsibility for ropeway stan- the state of the art, and they are updated as required. A poll of the national dards has been assigned to CEN’s7 Technical Committee TC 2428. The standards organizations conducted in 2009 showed that all concerned saw a national member organizations vote on the European standards and, if great need for a revision exercise, and at the present time all the European accepted, implement them. The previously applied national standards or ropeway standards except EN 12408:200410 are being revised. Ropeway expert at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology, Radetzkystrasse 2, A-1030 Vienna Tel.: +43 1 711 62 65-0; Internet: www.bmvit.gv.at ISR4_s44-45_Layout 1 09.09.11 15:05 Seite 2 The need for an update does not mean that the ropeway standards were defec- tive in any fundamental way or failed to provide adequate standards of safety. Application of the ropeway standards has shown, however, that a number of provisions are vague or ambiguous, that the effects of some specifications are unrealistic, and that there are significant differences between the texts in the various language versions. We nevertheless owe a great debt of thanks to the authors of the original ropeway standards, especially in view of the time pres- sures under which they had to operate. Technical Committee TC 242 has created a total of ten working groups, some of which have been hard at work on the draft revised standards since 2009. 1 The internal market of the European Union was officially created under that name in 1993. Following the TC 242 has drawn up a schedule for the revision process, with June 2011 set as enlargement of the European Union to 27 member states, the European internal market is now the world’s the date for presentation of the drafts. The latest information received from the third biggest common market. individual working groups with regard to progress made to date, however, sug- gests that this time line is unrealistic. One reason for the delay is the need for 2 Making available on the market means “any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on agreement between all parties involved in the standardization process11, with the Community market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge”. their different interests and standpoints. 3 Standards can be made mandatory, e.g. through reference to legal or administrative norms by the legislator or The objections raised and proposals submitted for individual provisions of the issuing body, or on the basis of a legal agreement to that effect. standards often reflect commercial interests or traditional views enshrined in 4 EN 45020:2006, Standardization and related activities – General vocabulary (ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004). earlier national codes. Where they represent an obstacle to the standardization process, they must be refuted with sound arguments based on convincing engi- 5 (13) In order to make it easier to prove that the essential requirements have been complied with, it is useful neering considerations. to have harmonised European standards, compliance with which enables it to be presumed that the product is in conformity with the said essential requirements. Harmonised European standards are drawn up by private Consensus building among the parties involved is one of the most demanding bodies and must retain their non-mandatory status. For this purpose, the European Committee for Standardis- aspects of the work and often involves long and detailed debate. ation (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (Cenelec) are recognised as the bodies competent to adopt harmonised standards that follow the general guidelines for cooperation between the Commission and those two bodies signed on 13 November 1984. Objectives of ropeway standard revision 6 (14) For the purposes of this Directive, a harmonised standard is a technical specification (European standard The work on revision of the ropeway standards must be guided by the need to or harmonisation document) adopted by one or other of those bodies, or by both, at the request of the Commis- − ensure a balance of interests between all parties and avoid negative impacts on sion pursuant to Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying the activities of the working groups as a result of excessive lobbying, down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on information society services and in accordance with the general guidelines referred to above. − have appropriately qualified people representing the various parties so as to ensure a high standard of results, 7 CEN (European Committee for Standardisation): founded by the national standardization bodies of the mem- ber states of the EEC and EFTA in 1961. − take a critical look at the individual provisions of the standards with regard to their need, suitability and reasonableness, 8 CEN/TC 242: Safety requirements for passenger transportation by rope − ensure that the four freedoms12 of the internal market of the European Union, 9 Commission communication in the framework of the implementation of Directive 2000/9/EC of the Euro- and in particular the free movement of goods pursuant to Article 28 EC13, are not pean Parliament and of the Council relating to cableway installations designed to carry persons (http://eur- restricted in any way as a result of inappropriate formulations. lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2009:051:0009:0011:EN:PDF) 10 EN 12408:2004, Safety requirements for cableway installations designed to carry persons - Quality control Working Group 2 11 The parties involved comprise companies, universities, consumers, testing institutes and authorities.